The Critic’s Critic
By Sparrow
I spoke to Arnold J. Foley, freelance art critic, in a Nigerian tea bar in Astoria, Queens.
Sparrow: What are the main problems in the contemporary art world?
Mr. Foley: To begin with, the art world in New York is entirely segregated by neighborhood. All the paintings in the Upper East Side galleries must be attractive hanging over a sofa.
I don’t care if they’re by Picasso, they have to be “sofa-ready” (that’s the term I use). The art in Chelsea must impress an art professor; in fact, it has impressed an art professor. The art on the Lower East Side is scruffy—not really scruffy, but faux-scruffy. The art in Williamsburg is made out of non-art stuff: mayonnaise, poodle hair, broken zippers.
Sparrow: And which is your favorite art?
Mr. Foley: It’s not a matter of favorites. My point is just the opposite. All segregation is evil, even in art. We need the sofa-ready paintings to speak to the poodle hair sculptures, but they never do! In fact, the two genres need to mate.
Sparrow: Do you have any other complaints about the art world?
Mr. Foley: Another philosophical problem is “outsider art.” No one can settle on a name for it. Some prefer “vernacular art”; some go for “self-taught art.” Or “folk art.” I like to call it True Art.